


Escape

by Arielthehedgehog99, SchemeNDreamer



Series: OneShots (Original Characters) [8]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Demons, Dolls, Escape, Fear, Ghosts, Haunted Houses, Multi, Run, Spirits, The Key, Writen By Several People
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 03:49:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10549580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arielthehedgehog99/pseuds/Arielthehedgehog99, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SchemeNDreamer/pseuds/SchemeNDreamer
Summary: When a group of friends gets trapped in a haunted manor, they must band together to survive.The lights went out again and Amelia shrieked as the group began to panic once more. The lights then returned but were dim, flickering creepily. An ominous voice came through the TV, startling the group."Hello there my little dolls..." the voice said.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was written by me, @SchemeNDreamer (AO3), @FlashDuh (Wattpad) and @sonic_comic (Wattpad). Most of the writing is the same however, I edited the story to the grammar was correct.

An owl screeched in the distance was the group of girls approached the manor. The wind howled and and the girls could hear the leaves and sticks crunching under their weight. As they approached the door, thunder struck in the background.  
  
"This seems a little off..." Blue whispered, her red hair in her face, blue eyes filled with suspicion.  
  
"It's just Dash's Halloween party. She's just set it up for the ambiance." Koda assured her, smacking Blue on the back, a shit-eating grin in her face.  
  
Talia rolled her blue eyes before speaking, "You guys are so immature. There is nothing scary here. You're all a bunch of babies..."  
  
"I'm with Blue... This place feels weird..." Amelia cut in, emerald eyes shaking, filled with fear. "Let's just get inside. I'm sure it's better in there..." she said as she knocked on the door.

The knocking was loud and yet no one answered the door. Amelia knocked again but no one responded once again. Angelia gave a nervous glance backwards, biting her lip before knocking one more time. This time Dash opened the door with a smile. She grinned, "Hello there!"

Blue then sighed in relief. "Oh, okay... She actually is here..." she whispered almost to herself. A look of relief washing over her face.

  
Koda interrupted her with a snarky, "I told ya so!" She then proceeded to stick out her tongue at Blue. Blue rolled her eyes at Koda’s immaturity.

  
Talia then casually walked past the group and into the manner. She then turned to Dash, asking, "Hey, is there any food in here? I’m starving.”

  
Dash then smiled and replied, "Yeah, there's also movies, ready to be played!"

  
"Count me in!" Amelia shouted, a smile on her face, a contrast from the fear that had been written for the majority of the treck to the manor.  
  
"I also have some board games bu-" Dash began but was hushed by Koda.  
  
"I think the food and movies are good enough cause board games bring out the worst in us..." Koda said, “Plus, board games are so boring…” . Blue nodded in agreement.  
  
"Yeah... Remember the last time..." she said in a hushed voice, shaking her head.  
  
Dash nodded. Long story short, most of the group had ended up in the hospital. She and the others had vowed to never, ever do that again. "Okay, well, I'll show you to the room. Ariel, Red, Gade, Flash and Ruby are already here." Dash explained, leading them towards the said room.  
  
Once they arrived the room, Amelia burst through the door shouting, "Let's watch anime!!!" The group that came with Amelia laughed while the group who were sitting quietly jumped in surprise.  
  
"Ah! You scared me!" Flash said, clutching her chest, a lighthearted laugh in her voice.  
  
Ruby laughed, "I wasn't scared!" Gade and Red made no comments and continued to watch the movie.  
  
"So, where are the snacks?" Talia asked bluntly. Dash pointed to the snack table to which Talia walked over too. She then began to casually stuff her face.  
  
Blue smiled as she sat down next to Ariel and the two struck up a conversation. Koda on the other hand was in the middle of a glare contest with Gade, after Gade has looked up from the TV.  
  
Dash let out a nervous chuckled, realizing her friends really were weird. It was at the moment, the lights went out...  
  
The room was pitch dark. "Who turned off the lights **THIS** time?" Talia asked as she crossed her arms and continued to stuff her face by the food table.  
  
"Dash… Can you please put on the lights?" Amelia asked softly, scared of the dark.  
  
"It's just another one of her tricks guys chill out!" Koda said aloud, “This is a halloween party!”  
  
"BUT THE TV!" Amelia cried.  
  
The group groaned and howled. They were truly miserable without their anime. That is, when the power switched back on.  
  
"Yay! Finally. Almost lost my spot in Kill la Kill.." Amelia laughed before saying, "Why can't we watch fairy tale??"  
  
The group continued to talk loudly and socialize, when Ariel decided to speak up, "Hey... Guys.. someone's missing..."  
  
The group looked around and sure enough, someone was missing. Dash was nowhere in sight. Koda scoffed, "I'm sure it's just Dash's prank."  
  
"I'm not so sure... Who turned on the lights?" Blue asked.  
  
The group was silent before Flash spoke, "I thought Dash did..."  
  
"It could have been Dash. She could have just left the room." Koda said.  
  
"I don't think so... I heard a struggle and if you look over where Dash was, there is a mess..." Amelia said, pointing out the corner by the door.  
  
"Hey... Where's Red?" Ruby asked, looking around the room.  
  
"Who cares?" Koda rolled her eyes.  
  
"Gade's gone too..." Blue added.  
  
"Well good riddance to him.” Koda smirked before continuing. “It's obvious. Gade and Red took Dash out of the room to try and scare us." Koda said, unimpressed.  
  
The lights went out again and Amelia shrieked as the group began to panic once more. The lights then returned but were dim, flickering creepily. An ominous voice came through the TV, startling the group.  
  
"Hello there my little dolls..." the voice said.  
  
"Who's there?" Talia asked, anger in her voice.  
  
"My name doesn't concern you... What should concern you is the safety of your friends..." the voice said.  
  
"What have you done with them?" Flash asked.  
  
"I haven't done anything, yet... However, that doesn't mean I won't harm them..." the voice smirked.  
  
Ruby grit his teeth, "You monster..."  
  
"Listen up stupid dolls. If you want to see your friends again you must do as I say. The room you're in is locked. Get out. Then you must search the manor for three keys. Once you find the keys, make your way to the basement to reclaim your friends." the voice smiled.  
  
"And if we refuse to do anything?" Talia asked, snark in her voice.  
  
"Then you and your friends will perish." the voice laughed.  
  
"So... All we have to go is get out of this room and find three keys..." Ariel asked softly.  
  
"Well, almost. I almost forgot." the voice said, "There is a catch. I'll be using some of your friends as my dolls. The boys specifically. They'll be roaming the halls and rooms. Don't let them catch you or you'll face the same fate as them."  
  
"What did you do to them?" Ruby asked, anger seeping through his teeth. “You’d better not have hurt them!” he growled.  
  
"Nothing yet, I have yet to touch them...They're just my puppets. Now, get moving." the voice smiled before the lights returned to normal and the TV returned to the previous anime.  
  
"Well... What now?" Blue asked, looking around.  
  
Amelia gave out an innocent sob and she shook. " Oh.. What will we do?!" she whimpered and buried her face in her knees.  
  
"FOOLS! You're all falling for Dash's plan... Ugh... I'm sitting back...!" Koda said as she shoot her head. She rested her head onto the sofa and ate a handful of popcorn while watching HunterxHunter.  
  
"Koda! They're going to DIE!" Flash cried as she walked around nervously.  
  
"They're going to turn the lights out... And every time the lights go off and then on again... Somebody's missing!" Blue paced, thinking aloud.  
  
Talia ran to the door. "We've gotta open this door, first!" she reasoned.  
  
"Oh, shut it John. You’re just as bad as them..." Koda said, rolling her eyes. Talia frowned at her before turning back to the door.  
  
Talia twisted the door handle to confirm it was truly locked. She sighed, the ominous voice wasn't lying."Koda's probably right, there's no way this is for real.” Talia said aloud, "But I don't want to stick around to find out if she’s wrong." She put one foot firmly on the wall next to the door, gripped the handle and leaned back, pulling with all her weight.  
  
There was a loud 'thump thump THUMP' right outside the room. Talia let out a startled shriek and fell on her butt. The door handle came with her. The other side of the handle fell to the floor outside the room with a heavy 'clunk!'  
  
"Oh, good job, Talia!" Ariel praised, “That’s one way to open the door.”  
  
The stranger's voice rang through the room, "That's CHEATING!!!"  
  
"Hey!" Talia retorted. "I'm not scouring the room for another stupid key!"  
  
"Cheaters will be PUNISHED!" the voice boomed. A crash was heard from the hallway, like the shattering of glass.  
  
A creepy red eye peeked through the new hole in the door. The eye glowed and light shot into the room like a laser. It's owner roared when he locked in on one of the girls. The girls screamed in pure terror.  
  
His fist punched through the wooden door, sending splinters flying into Talia's face. The green arm grabbed wildly at the air, reaching for the fox girl.  
  
"Holy sh-oot!" Ruby gasped, "Quick, grab some furniture and push it against the door!"  
  
Ariel, Flash, and Ruby quickly hoisted up a dresser between them and shoved it against the door, crushing the arm. The arm retracted from the hole, and fingers inched into the handle-hole.  
  
Koda leapt up, snatched an anime DVD from its case, broke it over her knee, and used one of the pointy pieces to stab Gade's fingers through the hole. The green hedgehog hissed and pulled his fingers away.  
  
"Gade! Snap out of it!" Blue yelped.  
  
"Oh, do you believe we're in danger now?!" Amelia yelled at Koda.  
  
"No," Koda responded coolly, "I just won't miss an opportunity to hurt Gade. If he and Red and Dash are gonna do this stupid stuff, I'm not going to hold back on punching them when I can."  
Blue rolled her eyes at Koda's childishness. "Well... Whoever's doing this, Dash or otherwise, isn't playing around." she reasoned.  
  
"I can assume they've got eyes everywhere..." Flash said.  
  
Ruby nodded, "We should try to play by the rules as much as possible..."  
  
"Well... First off... We should probably find the key..." Amelia reasoned.  
  
The group began to look around the room, looking for any sort or key, note or answer to the location of the key. "If I were a bad guy, where would I hide the key?" Talia asked aloud.  
  
Ariel's eyes lit up as she walked over to the potted plant. She moved it over and low and behold, there was the key. "I found it..." Ariel said, holding up the key.  
  
"It was under the plant..." Blue sweatdropped. Ariel nodded as the group went to move the dresser blocking the way. They checked to make sure Gade was gone before moving the blockade.  
  
"Why didn't we just move the dresser before finding the key? The door was open." Koda asked.  
  
"Because Gade would probably still be there if we hadn't found the key." Ruby said.  
  
Koda scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure... I'm sure it's still a prank."  
  
"Well, the door's open... Where do we go next?" Amelia asked as the group stepped out of the room.  
  
The group of girls  and one boy looked around the hallways. "Oh boy... It sure is dark!" Amelia stuttered as she clung to Talia’s arm.  
  
"Don't touch me!" she said as she shook Amelia off forcefully.  
  
"Hey, how about we go in groups?" Ariel suggested.  
  
"That's a great idea!" Ruby said.  
  
"How about.. Ariel and I go together... Flash and Ruby go together and Amelia can join them... And... Koda and Talia go together!" Blue smiled and clapped her hands.  
  
Koda's face swelled up. "pftb-WHAT?!" she cried as she coughed up popcorn. "OHHOHOHO no.. John and I? No way!" Koda shouted, angry.  
  
"My name isn't John, Koda..." Talia crossed her arms and looked at Koda.

That's when, the lights went out. A loud, girlish scream came from the group.  
  
"Who was that?!"  
  
"Oh no... NOT AGAIN!!!"  
  
"I blame it on John..."  
  
"HOLY GWAK!!! WHERE'S MY HUSBAND WHEN I NEED HIM!!!"  
  
When the lights came back on, someone was missing. Talia was gone. The sinister voice was heard again, "Next time someone cheats, people start DYING. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"  
  
Amelia gripped Flashy's arm; her voice shook as she whimpered, "I don't think this is a joke anymore!" Tears welled up in her big blue eyes.  
  
"Oh no, Amelia! Don't cry!" Ariel said, crouching down to her level.  
  
"Yeah," Ruby agreed. "Crying won't help us in this situation."  
  
"Okay, let's keep our groups and go. Koda, you take Amelia now." Ariel said.  
  
"Whatever!" Koda scooped up Amelia under her arm and headed left, kicking over potted plants oand other objects strewn about in her way.  
  
Ariel turned to the others and whispered, "Has Amelia always had blue eyes?"  
  
"No, Amelia has green eyes," Blue said.  
  
"Her eyes looked blue just now...." Ariel responded.  
  
"Probably just your eyes playing tricks on you. Or the light shining off them just right could make green look blue. Like an aqua color maybe?" Ruby groaned.  
  
He and Flashy were entering a door at the opposite end of the hallway. "Guys, get going!"<hr>"Whelp, I guess we've got the kitchen! Evil toasters and possessed microwaves await!" Blue shouted, a smile in her words.  
  
The kitchen, unsurprisingly, turned out to not harbor evil toasters nor possessed microwaves. Surprisingly, it did have something in the oven. Ariel turned it off as Blue opened it. Inside was a pan overflowing with a strange goop, which turned black when it dripped onto the metal rack beneath it. It could have at one point been a food product, but now it looked like a bunch of different leftover meals poured together and burned.

Blue reached in to grab the pan, and promptly burnt her hand. "AAOOOUCH! SHIT! I mean, SHOOT!" Blue cried as she shook her hand and blew on it.  
  
Ariel rushed over to the kitchen sink and ran some cold water. Blue put her hand in it. "Oven mitts were invented for a reason," Ariel chided.  
  
"I'm just trying to hurry! I'm worried!" Blue said softly, "We gotta find those keys!"  
  
Ariel snatched a spatula from a drawer and set it on the counter. She found oven mitts hanging next to the stove, put them on, and removed the hot pan from the oven. She brought it to the counter and used the spatula to dig through it.  
  
"What would the key look like? Big, small, silver, plastic? And what will they unlock?" Blue asked aloud, knowing fully well the rhetorical question would go unanswered. 

The heated goop splashed all over the counter as Ariel hastily dug through it, eventually extracting a small gold key at the bottom of the mess. "Got one!" she cried. She turned it over in her mitt-covered hands, examining it.  
  
Blue leaned over to see, "Looks old. It's all rusty."  
  
"Some of that is from burning just now. Like the blackened part here," Ariel showed her, "But it should be fine for... whatever we need it for, once it cools down." "Okay... Let's get out of here..." Ariel said as she and Blue turned around.  
  
Blue let out a scream of terror. Standing behind them was Red. Or... What looked like Red...  
  
Red lunged at Blue and Ariel as both girls jumped out of the way. "What do we do now?" Ariel shouted to Blue.  
  
"I don't know... There must be some way to get away without hurting him..." Blue cried back.  
  
Red lunged at Ariel again and she jumped on his head, effectively knocking him out. "Is he okay?" Blue asked, running over to Ariel.  
  
Ariel nodded, "He should be fine. He's just knocked out." Blue nodded as she picked up the key off the counter.  
  
"We should get out of here before he wakes up..." she said as the two girls left the kitchen.  
  
"Where are we meeting the others?" Ariel asked as they ran from the kitchen.  
  
"I think we meet by the basement... That's where the door is..." Blue mused.  
  
Ariel nodded as the two made the way through the manor in search of the basement.<hr>Flashy and Ruby found themselves in a laundry room. The washer and dryer were both running. "Why would they hide a key in the laundry room? Make us go through Dash's dirty laundry!" Ruby laughed at his own joke. Flashy rolled her eyes.  
  
"What, do you think she has skeletons in her closet?" Flashy asked jokingly. She opened the door to a cabinet above the machines and jumped back with a screech.  
  
Gade climbed out, his limbs moving much like a feral cat, hunting for prey. His eyes glowed again, scanning the dimly-lit room for the two hedge-foxes. The Flashes glanced at each other, their feet frozen to the floor.  
  
"He's like a robot or something," Ruby whispered, "Maybe it's like a T-Rex; if we don't move, he can't see us."  
  
At that moment, Gade had scanned the entire room, Flashes included, and lunged at Ruby. His teeth caught Ruby's leg. "OW! DOWN BOY!" Ruby yelped. Flashy hesitated to pull Gade off, and pulled back a few times. "GET HIM OFF! GET HIM OFF!" Ruby screamed as loud as he can.  
  
"I'M TRYING!" Flashy yelled back.  
  
"No you're not! GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY! IT'S EITHER WE LIVE OR WE BOTH DIE!" Ruby shook his leg.  
  
"...FOR FLORA!!" Flashy raised her hands and ripped Gade off like a dog.  
  
Ruby got onto his knees and massaged his ankle. Gade crawled up Flashy's arm and onto her head. She screamed. "OH MY GOD!!! I'M GOING TO KILL THIS THING!" Flashy started swatting at Gade, attempting to get him off. Ruby got up quickly and opened the washing machine, and out came what seemed to be thousands of wet and soapy clothing, all over Gade, Flashy, and Ruby. Gade fell onto the hardwood floor and looked almost sound asleep.  
  
"He has fire powers. Water is his main weakness." Flashy smiled, and did her best to dry her clothing.  
  
Ruby looked at her. "Why don't you just... take off your clothes...?" He smirked and crosses his hands.  
  
"Oh, Please Xezbeth! Be appropriate." She hit him over the head and laughed.  
  
He looked around the room. "Now... where is this k-!!!" Ruby said before he clumsily slipped on the hardwood floor and landed on his bottom.  
  
"Ow! This floor is so slippery!" Ruby shook his head.  
  
"It's your fault! You were the one who opened the... The washing machine! That's it!" Flashy got a bright idea and started heading for the washing machine, when of course, she slipped. "Oops!"  
  
Ruby stood and helped Flashy up. They dug through the puddle of water in the machine, flipping over clothes and getting water all over themselves. "This will be our future." Ruby groaned.  
  
Flashy laughed, and shot back, "YOUR future! I'll be the one washing. Not fixing!" They smiled and laughed.  
  
"It's nowhere. Nowhere! I can't see it!" Flashy started to give up.  
  
"Maybe it's in dryer, Flash..." Ruby suggested.  
  
"Oh! It's no where, X! Nowhere... We'll never find it... And by the time we find them, half of us will be DEAD!" Flashy groaned in frustration. She went through the dryer hastily, and then slammed the side of it.  
  
"Calm down. You're acting like your b-" Ruby began before being cut off.  
  
"Oh don't mention my brother! Or any of my family! Don't mention my friends, don't mention ANYONE!" She turned around.    
  
"Hun, I don't know what you're mad at. But look, if we give up now we're not going to see light again. Now just look at me." Ruby said.  
  
"No, Ruby, I'm not looking at you." Flash said. Ruby got up, walked up to Flash and grabbed her.  
  
"Now isn't the time for romance, Ruby." Flash looked up at him, angry.  
  
"Now isn't the time for fighting." Ruby said.  
  
"Now isn't the time for STALLING." Flashy looked up at him, she was red in the face.  
  
"Stop it. You're making me seem like I'm not mad at you." Ruby chuckled. They both laughed and then stared at the washing machine.

"Do you see what I see, hun? Flash asked.  
  
Ruby kept staring at it. "You mean the key holder." he asked.  
  
"Yes. Where it starts the machine." Flash said. They kept staring in astonishment.  
  
"We're idiots." Ruby chuckled. The key was in the keyhole, starting the washing machine.  
  
Flash grabbed the key out of the washing machine before the two ran out of the laundry room. "Now where too?" Flashy asked.  
  
"I think we meet my the basement..." Ruby responded as the two set off for the basement.<hr>Koda and Amelia were currently wandering around the library. "Why are we even here? I still think this is one big joke..." Koda rolled her eyes.  
  
"I don't... I'm really scared..." Amelia whispered, looking around the library.  
  
Koda snorted, "There's nothing to be scared of."  
  
Amelia shook her head before she heard the door to the library open. Amelia froze in place before turning to Koda. "Did you hear that?" she whispered.  
  
Koda shrugged, talking in abnormal voice, "Ya. Don't worry about it. They're probably just trying to scare us."  
  
Koda walked over towards the door while Amelia stayed behind. Amelia was scared but continued looking through the books for the key.  
  
She then heard Koda from the other side of the library. "Hey Talia. How's it going?" she asked.  
  
There was no response and Amelia bit her lip, hoping Koda was okay. A loud crash was then heard and Amelia watched as Koda was sent flying across the room.  
  
Amelia let out a shriek. Koda, from where she lay against the wall, sat up with a groan. "Ow... that really hurt..." she said, picking herself up.  
  
"I don't think they're playing anymore..." Amelia whispered nervously to Koda.  
  
Koda rolled her eyes, "No duh! Now, let's find that key. I don't think I can take being thrown into another wall."  
  
The two continued to search through the books, careful to avoid Talia's watchful eye. Eventually, Amelia pulled out a book and a clunk noise was heard.  
  
Koda's voice came from the other side of the library. "Hey, Amelia. There's a secret passage over here. I'll distract Talia. Go get the key." she cried.

Amelia walked over to the other side as Koda got Talia's attention and dragged her away from Amelia. Amelia cautiously went through the secret door. She walked down the stairs to find a book sitting on a pedestal. She open the book and found a large golden key. She smiled, grabbed the key and exited the room. "I've got it Koda!" Amelia called.  
  
"Great! Let's get out of here!" Koda cried. Amelia made her way to the library's entrance. She met up with Koda and the two quietly slipped out.  
  
"Where to now?" Koda asked, rolling her eyes.  
  
"We need to find the basement. We'll meet everyone else there." Amelia said as the two set off.<hr>Koda and Amelia were the last to arrive to the basement door. There was a suspicious juxtaposition of the door compared to the rest of Dash's house; the door was thick iron, once white but now rusted over so badly that it felt gross to touch. "It took us a while to find it," Blue told the rest of the group. "It was hidden behind a bookshelf or two."  
  
"Or two? I think you would have remembered moving a second bookshelf," Koda said.  
  
"Well, there was one large bookshelf, and like, another half-sized one. But the smaller one also had movies in it, so its classification as a bookshelf depends on who you're asking," Ariel elaborated.  
  
Ruby huffed, "Guys! Quit stalling! Does one of the keys open this door?"  
  
"Well, no," Amelia said, "the door just has a lift-latch thing. But...."  
  
"But what?" Ruby demanded.  
  
"Butt butt coconut," Flashy mumbled.  
  
"Guys!" Koda shouted. "What are we waiting for??  
  
"What are you waiting for?" Amelia retorted.  
  
Ruby awkwardly started, "Well, I-"  
  
"Can we all just admit that we're scared?" Blue interrupted.  
  
"Yeah," Amelia agreed.  
  
"I'm not scared," Koda informed. Standing behind Koda, Ariel ran light fingers up Koda's spine, at which Koda shrieked. She twisted around a grabbed Ariel's hand. A moment passed as Koda realized the point. "Shut up." she mumbled. The group glanced around nervously at each other. "What could it be?" Koda asked.  
  
"Can't be good," Flashy said.  
  
"Whatever it is, we have to open the door. Or else who knows what could happen to Dash, Gade and Red?" Ruby reminded.  
  
"Um, are we forgetting any rules?" Blue asked.  
  
Ruby scowled at her. "Find the keys, go to the basement. That's all there was. Now c'mon you guys, we'll open the door together. On three. Ready? One...."  
  
The others placed their hands on the door. "Two." Flashy opened the latch.  
  
"Three!" They pushed against the door together.  
  
"Should it be this heavy?" Flashy commented.  
  
On her remark, the door seemed to give in; it swung open with a huge whoosh of air, leaving the group to all fall on their faces. Dusty cement floors were not good for landing. Blue pushed herself up from the floor with blood dripping from her nose. Koda was holding hers as well.  
  
As they glanced about each other, they noticed little Amelia was not on the floor. Ariel started to say "Where's Amelia?" but was cut off by booming laughter from behind them.  
  
It was the same laughter as the stranger. It sounded deep, masculine, a cliche super villain laugh. Amelia's eyes glowed like Gade's had, and they surveyed the frightened group before them. "You have done well collecting my keys," it said. The sound was definitely coming from Amelia, but her mouth didn't move with the words. Her arm raised mechanically to point across the large basement, a blue laser-light shooting from her fingertip. The friends all turned to look.  
  
The light landed on three old, rusty, porcelain dolls. They appeared to be life-sized, from what the group could see in the darkness of the room. The laser-light illuminated not their faces, but a keyhole on the torso of each doll. "Unlock my friends, and we will let yours go," the voice commanded monotonously.  
  
The friends all looked at each other again, wide-eyed. Ariel, Koda, and Ruby shakily produced a key from their pockets - one rusted and burned gold, one a cracked silver, and the last a faded bronze.  
"Yes. Unlock my friends, and we will let yours go," the voice repeated. "Quickly."  
  
The three key-holders scampered hastily to the eerie dolls, trying not to look at the faces. They each inserted the corresponding key into the lock and turned them. The locks glowed brightly, magically, and as the friends attempted to pull their arms away, they found they couldn't.  
  
Koda gasped.  
  
Ariel whined.  
  
Ruby yelled, "What the hell?!"  
  
Black magic raced up their arms and engulfed them, their screams mixed with those of the other two watching.  
  
Flashy called out, "Ruby! NO!"    
  
"What are you doing to them?" Blue demanded, turning again to see Amelia. But what she saw wasn't Amelia.  
  
Her face had twisted into a wicked grin, with sharp teeth and eyes going black. Once the blackness had filled the sclera of her eyes, it oozed out and dripped down her face and onto the floor. "My friends and I," the voice said, "are finally leaving this cursed house. We have long been trapped inside dolls; it is time you see how it feels."  
  
Maybe once upon a time, we were. Now, I know not what we are. But that doesn't matter. We will force your souls from your flesh-vessels and use them to leave this cursed house," the voice told them.  
  
Flashy and Blue turned back around to see their friends. Each of their hands, which had been stuck grasping the keys, detached at the wrists with large puffs of smoke. Their bodies fell limply to the floor. They immediately got back up, but their movements were mechanic like Amelia's. They twisted their heads around without moving their feet, all perfect 180 degrees, and their eyes seemed to bore into the last two friends. The glowing eyes narrowed and scanned the room. Blue and Flashy were shaking on the floor, tears pouring down their faces.  
  
"There is something humorous about this game," the voice said, to no one in particular. "The keys could only work under one condition: the key-holder must be truly scared. Fearful for their lives. If you had just listened to your friend Koda and done nothing, the rest of you might have lived."  
Dash, Gade, and Red emerged from the corners of the room. Blue and Flashy were surrounded by their former friends. Helpless.  
  
Blue quickly got up and looked around. They were really surrounded. Flashy was looking around, her eyes swelled up in tears. Blue helped her up and then she too knew that this was a possible end to them.  
  
"I don't want to be a coward to them," Flashy said drying her eyes, "But Blue, we both have-"  
  
"We both have children, and dead husbands." She looked at Flashy.  
  
"Our friends are dead. We're widows." She held blue's hand, and pulled her close to Amelia. Flashy shoved her into the wall and ran with Blue.  
  
"Flashy! They're back there!" Blue cried. "I don't care anymore, Blue. We've killed enough lives. Who knows – If we're all dead that increases the chances of more suicide and the death of our children." Flashy grunted and burst down the rotted-wood door.  
  
They made it to the light. "They will still be there," Blue sniffed, "They'll always be in that house.." Blue couldn't wrap it around the idea.  
  
Flashy looked toward the house. "Maybe," she looked down at her feet.  
  
"Maybe if we go back another day, they'll still be there. We can save them then." Flashy looked back at the house. Blue grabbed Flashy's shoulder and they headed home.


End file.
